Thread feeding device for thread testing machines



March-25, 1952 w. GEGENSCHATZ 2,590,398

THREAD FEEDING DEVICE FOR THREAD TESTING MACHINES Filed April 4, 1951s'shee'ts-sheet 1 INVENTOR. WA LTEE G EGENSCHATZ 3 BY A Q ATTORNEY March25, 1952 w. GEGENSCHATZ THREAD FEEDING DEVICE FOR THREAD TESTINGMACHINES Filed April 4, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 o w My) INVENTOR. VVALTEZEGEGENSCHATZ.

(,4 'Wya A TTOKNEK March 25, 1952 .w. GEGENSCHATZ 2,590,393

ITHREYADUFEEDING DEVICE FOR THREAD 'IIESITING MACHINES Filed April 4,1951 I a sheets-"sheets WA LI'EZR GEGENSLCHATQZ.

' nrr R/vEK Patentecl Mar. 25, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT" OFFICE! THREADFEEDING'DEVICEF OR THREAD TESTING MACHINE S Walter Gegenschatz; Uster,Switzerland, assignor to Zellweger A. G. Apparate-und Maschinen-lfabriken Uster, Uster, Switzerland, a corporation of SwitzerlandApplicationApril 4, 1951, Serial No. 219,191 In Switzerland April- 14,.1950 7 k Claims.- 1

The" present invention refers to. thread testing machines? of the typein which successive-lengths of thread are subjected to" tensilestressandrmore particularly to. novel and improved means. forsuccessively feeding lengths :of thread into such testing machines.

It. is; an object of the invention to provide thread supplymeans'forautomatically succes-f- V sivelyideliveringv lengths of thread fromasourcev of thread supply to a" tensioning and: tension measuringmechanism includingztw'o clamps 'b'etween -whicha lengthnof thread isheldsforthe testing operation; The supply means according tol the".invention comprise a gripper: connected with an endless chain travellingaround a: loop, the-gripper beingladapted togrip the? thread extendingfrom a source of thread supply, laying the'thread into saidtclamps, andreleasing the thread after it has been taken'over by the clamps.

The'useof 'anendless chain for guiding the grip per along apredeterminedpath, makesit possible'to'shape said path tosuit therequirements of a variety of clamp arrangements of conventional threadtesting devices by suitably placing sprocket wheel's supporting thechain;

ends of the lengths' of thread to betested'and the pull of the chain maybe utilized for providing:' the force 1 for tensioningand: breaking? thethreadi'to be tested; the tensioniforce i applied to the thread during-Lthe? test being i measured by conventionalimeansi which? are connected?with the- 'clamp holding3one .end'of itheilengthf of thread to :betested;

Further. and. other objects of the present invention-will be hereinafterset forth: in the accompanyingspecification and claims; and shown inuthedrawings which, by way of illustration,

show-what I now'consider to be preferred embodiments of my" invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a apart sectional side elevation of a machine-according,to'the invention;

Fig; 2"i's aspar't sectional front elevation of the The threadgrippercarried along by the chain may itself f be 1 used as one 1 of the clamps"holding? the- Fig. '7 is a rear view of'the gripper shown-in I Figs; 5and 6 with'partof thechainto whichiit is attached-the gripper properbeing shownwin ax section transverseto its longitudinal axis;

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic front view-of-amodi fled mechanism according totheinvention;

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic-front view of a further modification of 'amechanism according-"tothe invention.

Referring now particularly to Figs; 1-and 2 oi the drawings, numerals-2and Bdesignate thread clamps for holding alengththread I which is-to betested which is suspended on ribbons 5-extendingover a rollerd'rotatingly supported on casing-1.- The ribbons 5 are connected with acarriage trolling on asupport 8 one end of which is swingablyr connectedwith the casing I, coaxially with roller 4. The'other end ofsupports-is: providedwith a roller [0 restingon a platform or table-9;

Thepull exerted through ribbonsi-5 an the thread I clamped in clamp 2depends on theweight of the carriage-6 and on then-inclination of thesupport 8. The inclination can beadjusted by changing the elevationof'platform-9'.- This is done by rotating avertical threaded roll llextending. througha nutlike portion H of table 9. Rotation of the latteris -preventedbya verti'bal rod [2 which guides the table slidably; Theweight of the clamp 2 and bracket- 2" is counterbalanced by a weightIE-suspended on roller 4.

The testing machineis driven by'a motor 13 permanently rotating pulleyI5, which is fast-on machine drive shaft IS, by means-of-a belt M Therotation of shaft I5 is transmitted by spur.

gears 2 3, 2 6, 2 5 and part2 0" of a magnetic clutch which part rotatesfreely on shaft ih The-other part 20 of the'clutch isaxiallyslidably-keyed toshaft H. The rotation of shaft l6-is alsotransmitted, in reverse, by-means-of spur gears 2 2 ;=2i 4 to a magneticclutch part 19 which rotates freely on shaft H, the other par-t m oftheclutchbeing axially slidablebut not rotatable on shaft I-|-;

Gear wheel 22 is in mesh with a'gear wheel "21- fast on clutch part 21'which is rotatable onashaft l8 and cooperates with a magneticclutch part2| axially slidable but notrotatable on shaft l8.

Shaft bevel gears 28 in opposite directions depending whether clutch [9or 20 is energized.

Shaft I8 rotates a shaft 30'through wormge'ars 29, 3|. Shaft30'carriescams'32', 33"and'5'l. can

The lower clamp 3 is: stationary The upper clamp'2 is providediwithabracket-2 I? rotates threaded rod I lthrough- 32 is in contact with afollower roller 34 on one end of lever 35 swinging about a pin 36. Theother end of lever 35 has an elongated slot 31 through which extends apin 38 on rod 39. The latter is pivoted to one arm of the elbow levers40 and 4|, the other arms of the levers 40 and 4| being adapted to abutagainst the ends of stems 2" and 3', respectively, of the thread clamps2 and 3 for opening same against the action of springs.

Cam 33 engages follower roller 52 on lever 55 which swings on astationary pin 43. The free end of lever 45 is linked to an arm member45 by a connecting rod 45. Member 46 is fast on two rods 41 verticallyguided in guides 58 and pressed upwards by a spring 49. The upper endsof rods 41 extend through large holes 59 in the bracket 2' and areprovided with heads 11 outside of the bracket for upward travel of therods through holes prior to upward movement of clamp 2 during a threadtensile strength test and effecting return of clamp 2 to it initialposition shown in Figs. 1 and 2 after completion of the test, upondownward movement of the rods 41. When the clamp 2 is in its initialposition, its stem is in a position in which it can be engaged by lever49 for opening the clamp.

For a better understanding of the operation of the thread testingdevice, reference is made to the electric wiring diagram, Fig. 3. Aswitch 63, 64 is closed simultaneously with a switch or other device I3for starting the motor |3. Closing of switch 63, 54 energizes lines 53and 55' feeding the magnetic clutches i9, 25 and 2|.

Clutch 20, which effects upward movement of table 9, is energized uponclosing of switch 58 and of switch 53, 54. As seen in Fig. 1, switch 58is closed whenever table 9 is not in uppermost position; table 9 isprovided with an extension whose top and bottom are insulated byinsulators 55 which contact arms of switches 51 or 58 for opening samedepending whether the table is in lowest or uppermost position. Themovable central member 53 of two-way switch 53, 54 and 53, 55 asactuated by a plunger 52 which is responsive to the position of cam 5|.

Energization of clutch |9 causes downward movement of table 9 which isneeded for making a thread test. Clutch |9 receives current upon closingof contacts 53 and 55, which is effected by cam 5|, and of switches 51and 59. Switch 51 is closed whenever table 9 is not in its lowermostposition. Switch 59 is closed as long as arm 55' of a thread feeler G5is held in the position shown in Fig. 1 by the lower end of one of therods 41. The first step for making a thread test is the release of rod45 by cam 33 to produce quick upward movement of rods 41 by the actionof springs 59 and release of the bracket 2'. This being done, the feeler60 rests on the tensioned thread i which prevents spring 5| from pullingarm 55 against the switch 59 for opening it. To prevent the thread Ifrom yielding to the pressure of feeler 69, a pin 62 is provided on theside of the thread opposed to that where the feeler is located. When thethread breaks, feeler 55 and its arm 69' turn counterclockwise due tothe action of spring 6| and the arm 55' opens contact 59 therebyde-energizing clutch l9 and interrupting downward movement of table 9,whose position indicates the force which Was required to break thethread.

Energization of clutch I9 is accompanied by energization of solenoid 55and opening of contacts 65 whereby clutch 2| is de-energized and shafts|8 and 55 are stopped as long as table 9 moves downward, i. e., during athread test.

In the foregoing, mechanisms are described which are of a kind used inconventional thread testing machines. The following relates to meansaccording to the invention for continuously feeding new lengths ofthread to extend between the clamps 2 and 3 to be held thereby fortesting. These means comprise a chain 58 which forms a loop extendingaround four sprocket wheels 55, 19, 15 and 15, wheels 59 and 15 beingvisible in Figs. 1 and 2, wheels 15 and 15 being shown diagrammaticallyin Fig. 4. Wheel 55 is connected to shaft I8 by means of a speedreducing gear i1 and driven thereby.

One link of chain 58 is provided with a thread gripper 61 which isillustrated in a larger scale in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. Clamp part 15 has astem 19 which is screwed into sleeve 55. The latter is slidable in acylinder 8| having a head 82 forming the counterpart to clamp part 18.Spring 53 presses part 18 against the head 82. Sleeve has a slot 83extending transversely to its longitudinal axis and receiving the head54 of a pin 85 which is rotatable in a holder portion 86 to which thecylinder 8| is secured and which is connected with a link of the chain53. The head 84 has a flat surface 81 which is parallel to an interiorsurface of the slot 83 when the clamp is closed, i. e. in the positionshown in Figs. 5 to '1. If pin 85 is rotated the head 84 pushes sleeve80 against the action of spring 83' and opens the thread gripper 18, 82.To effect rotation of the pin 85, its outer end is provided with a wingpart having two wings 13, 14 adapted to be engaged by stationary catches1|, 12, respectively (Figs. 1 and 2), when the gripper moves past saidcatches in the direction indicated by arrow 88 in Fig. 5. Catch 12 whichis in the position A in the diagram Fig.4 opens the gripper 61 and catch1| closes it when the gripper reaches the position indicated by letter Bin Fig. 4. The chain 68 and its mechanism are so designed that duringone revolution of the control shaft 3|] gripper 61 travels once aroundthe loop formed by chain 68. Since clutch 2| is disengaged during thetime a thread length is tested, shafts l8 and 39 and consequently chain68 and gripper 61 do not move during the test period.

For setting up the machine, thread is pulled from bobbin 89, laid intoguide 90 and clamped into gripper 61, if the latter is in theneighborhood of sprocket wheel 15; if not, the thread is laid intoclamps 2 and 3. By starting the motor l3, clutch 2| is energized andshaft I8, which drives the chain 58 and the control shaft 30, isrotated, cam 33 permits rods 41 to move upward for releasing the clampholder 2' and permitting the clamp 2 to be pulled upward by the testingmechanism 4, 5, 6, 8, 9. As soon as contacts 53, 55 are closed clutch l9and solenoid 65 are energized whereby clutch 2| is de-energized andshaft I8 is stopped and shaft l1 rotated to move table 9 downward formaking a thread breakage test. The moment the thread breaks, threadfeeler 50, 69' opens switch 59 whereby clutch l9 and solenoid 55 arede-energized and clutch 2| is energized and chain 68 is moved in thedirection of arrow 88 with the thread gripper 61 open. Cam 33 returns,through members 44 to 41, clamp 2 and the thread tensioning and testingmechanism to initial position, in which rods 41 are in lowermostposition and the lower end of one of them holds thread feeler 60 inposition to receive a thread and switch 59 closed for the next testingperiod.

agbedebe when -theopen'gripper-61 reaches position Bg itobntactsI-tli'ethreadextending between guide 9'fl and c-lamp 2 and subsequentlygrips it when the gripper isclos'ed' due to engagement" of 'wing'" 13with catch ll. The chain-and gripper attached thereto continue totravelthereby laying the thread consecutively-"intoclamps 2 and 3 which a're'held-"openby the action of cam 32' and the mechanism 34- 'to -4i.- Whenthe thread gripper contacts53, 55. Prior to thiS COIItaCtS 53 and 54.

wereclosed and shaft l1 rotated simultaneously WithLshaftfl 8 forreturning table 9' to its top posi ti'on;.in; which. it opened"switcn58i for stopping shaft I'll Fig. 8 diagrammatically illustrates amodification of the machine according to the invention in which thestationary thread clamp 3 is omitted and replaced by the thread gripper61. Since the chain 68 and the gripper are at a standstill duringactuation of the thread testing mechanism, gripper 61 can be used asstationary thread clamp for testing the thread.

Fig. 9 illustrates diagrammatically a further modification of themachine according to the invention. In this case, as in the one shown inFig. 8, the thread gripper 61 serves for holding one end of the threadlength to be tested during the test. It is, however, not stationary butmoves from position C to D for stretching the thread. The force exertedon the thread up to the time it breaks is measured by conventionaltension 4 force reaction and measuring means 9| which are not shown indetail as they do not form part of the present invention. After gripper61 has reached position D, it is opened by a catch 72 in the same manneras in Figs. 4 and 8. The open gripper travels with the chain andreceives thread coming from spool 89 upon reaching position E.Thereafter, the gripper is closed by engagement with catch H, asdescribed previously. Instead of one sprocket wheel 15, as in Figs. 4and 8, two wheels and 15' are provided for guidance of the chain so thatthe gripper holding a fresh supply of thread to be tested has travelledpast the clamp 2 by a distance corresponding substantially to the lengthof thread to be tested before the thread is laid into the clamp.

While I believe the above described embodiments of my invention to bepreferred embodiments, I wish it to be understood that I do not desireto be limited to the exact details of method, design, and constructionshown and described, for obvious modifications will occur to a personskilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A thread testing machine having thread tension measuring meansincluding a thread clamp supporting a length of thread to be tested,

a source of thread from which thread to be tested extends to said clamp,a chain forming a loop, sprocket wheels supporting said chain in a planesubstantially parallel to the length of thread to be tested, drive meansconnected with at least one of said sprocket wheels for moving saidchain, and a thread gripper connected with said chain and extendinglaterally thereof and being moved thereby in a path looped around saidclamp, said gripper being adapted to grip the thread extendingfrom saidis'ource and -to lay-the :tmesa smmt 2: A thread testing: machinecomprising: a source of thread, thread tension measuring: meansincluding a thread' clamp for supporting. a length of thread tobetested, thread. supply means including a chain, sprocket wheels supporting said chainto form a loop, drive means connected with at leastone of said-- wheels for" moving said chain, and -athread gripperconnected. with saidchain tomove therewith and:

adapted to grip the thread extending fromsaid shaped -path extendingaround said clamp.-

'3'; A threadtesting machine comprising" a source of thread to betested;thread tension measuring means including a threadclamp- -for'-supporting a' length of thread to be tested; threa'd supplymeansincluding a chain, rotatable means" supporting said chain to form aloop situated in a plane parallel to the length of thread to be tested,drive means connected with said rotatable means for moving the chainaround the loop formed thereby, and a thread gripper connected with andextending laterally of said chain and travelling in a loop extendingaround said clamp and being adapted to grip the thread extending fromsaid source and to lay it into said clamp.

4. A thread testing machine comprising a source of thread to be tested,thread tension measuring means including a thread clamp for supporting alength of thread to be tested, thread supp-1y means including a chain,rotatable means supporting said chain to form a loop situated in a planeparallel to the length of therad to be tested, drive means connectedwith said rotatable means for moving the chain around the loop formedthereby, a thread gripper connected with and extending laterally of saidchain and travelling in a loop extending around said clamp and beingadapted to receive the thread extending from said source and to lay itinto said clamp, and stationary means disposed in the path of saidgripper and adapted to close it after it has received a thread and toopen it after it has laid the thread into said clamp.

5. A thread testing machine comprising a source of thread to be tested,thread tension measuring means including two thread clamps forsupporting a length of thread to be tested therebetween, thread supplymeans including a chain, rotatable means supporting said chain to form aloop situated in a plane parallel to the length of thread to be tested,drive means connected with said rotatable means for moving the chainaround the loop formed thereby, and a thread gripper connected with andextending laterally of said chain and travelling in a loop extendingaround said clamps and being adapted to grip the thread extending fromsaid source and to lay it into said clamps.

6. A thread testing machine comprising a source of thread to be tested,thread tensioning means including a thread clamp clamping one end of alength of thread to be tested, a chain, rotatable means supporting saidchain to form a loop situated in a plane parallel to the length ofthread to be tested, drive means connected with said rotatable means formoving the chain around the loop formed thereby, a thread gripperconnected with and extending laterally of said chain and travelling in aloop extending around said clamp and adapted to grip the threadextending from said source and to lay the thread into said clamp, andmeans interposed between said drive means and said rotatable means forinterrupting movement of said chain and said gripper after the latterhas travelled past said clamp by a distance corresponding to the lengthof thread to be tested.

'7. A thread testing machine comprising a source of thread to be tested,thread tension force reacting and measuring means including a threadclamp clamping one end of a length of thread to be tested, a travellingchain forming a loop situated in a plane parallel to the length of thethread to be tested, a thread gripper connected with and extendinglaterally of said chain and adapted to grip the thread extending fromsaid source, rotatable means supporting said chain and being so locatedas to guide the chain on a path of such configuration around said clampthat the thread is laid into the clamp after said gripper has travelledpast said clamp by a distance corresponding substantially to the lengthof the thread to be tested, and drive means connected with saidrotatable means for 1 causing said chain and gripper to travel aroundREFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,749,991 Valentine Mar. 11, 19302,142,251 Nunan Jan. 3, 1939 2,232,500 Weaver Feb. 18, 1941

